POV DISCUSSION: Scarlet Heart Ryeo Ep 10 & 11

Things take a nasty turn and tears are shed. The latest episode where Court Lady Oh sacrificed herself is nothing short of beautiful. Loyalties and feelings are tested against reality and in this important moment is where everyone shows their true colors and their choices.

Will this be the turning point in the drama?

There are a couple of things which happened, such as 8th prince turning his back on Hae Soo and Court Lady Oh’s death. I would expect Hae Soo to finally understand that life is the palace is not as easy as it may seem. Court Lady Oh’s death is more than enough reason for her to finally learn the hard way that every step in the palace is like walking on thin ice.

It doesn’t matter how sincere, kind or loyal you are. It doesn’t matter what kind of person you are, as long as you are living in the palace, anything and anyone could be used against you. One wrong move, even if it isn’t yours, could mean death. And sometimes, having unnecessary attention can bring death as well.

THOUGHTS & DISCUSSION

I won’t dive in too much on what happened in the two episodes, but will discuss more on the death of Court Lady Oh as well as the choices of 4th and 8th prince. The discussion will include reference to Bu Bu Jing Xin.

I was wondering how the Korean version would have a strong scene such as 13th prince getting locked up in BBJX and here we have it. Though we don’t have a 13th prince who is locked up, we have Court Lady Oh who gave up her life in exchange for Hae Soo. I didn’t see this coming.

It would have been nice to see more of Court Lady Oh and Hae Soo scenes if this was going to happen, but still it was sufficient to move the viewers. Well, at least for me – I’m moved. Though of course I didn’t cry as much as I did for BBJX.

So as seen on the preview, the King is going to sent her to the laundry department (or something like that I guess). It happened in BBJX as well – though the reasons are different. In BBJX, if I remember correctly, Rouxi rejected the King’s marriage arrangement of her and 14th prince and in anger, the King sent her to clean clothes.

In this version, I’m thinking that the King is angry as Hae Soo got caught in the mess as she is close to the princes and his lover died, saving her. So he’s probably trying to get her away from the princes and maybe out of anger as well. We’ll see.

And next….is this the time where we all decide who’s boat we’ll be seating in? 4th prince or 8th prince?

Of course you can still be in any other prince’s boat. I’m not on any boat right now.

Honestly, I actually like 8th prince a lot. He was a gentleman, nice, kind and just charming. I wouldn’t say he’s greedy or ambitious – because there wasn’t enough display of that. I felt that he sincerely liked Hae Soo and cared for her. However, it’s unfortunate that his family comes first. As righteous as he may seem, he can’t turn his back on his family. And you can’t blame him for choosing family over Hae Soo, right?

Of course, it is still cowardly of him to turn away from Hae Soo, when he clearly knows who is at fault. But I can’t hate him for choosing to keep his family safe instead. It’s a tough decision for anyone to make.

However, I am expecting his character to change after this.

As for 4th prince, I haven’t warmed up to him yet. He’s a great guy but there are too little scenes of him and Hae Soo as of now, for me to actually root for them together. So far, it’s one-sided love on 4th’s part and Hae Soo only treats him like a friend. Of course this would change in time, but whether that would be enough for me to jump onto his boat, is yet to be known.

And for me, I actually hope that there is more to 4th’s character. I find that there isn’t much variations in his character and so far, his journey has been an unfortunate, sad and depressing. There was that one scene before the rain ceremony, where he said aloud that they could just do the ceremony until it rained. This came as a surprise to the other princes as it was actually a smart thing to say. I want to see more of this side of 4th prince, instead of scenes where others just disregard him and pushes him.

I need more of bad-ass and smart prince. And am I the only one who is tired of 4th prince having bad things happen to him all the time?

And yes – I do appreciate that this version had that moment when 4th prince stood with Hae Soo in the rain, just like in BBJX. When everyone else is scared to anger the King, only 4th prince is not and stood with her.

Of course, it is still slightly different from BBJX. In BBJX, we know that both 8th and 4th prince have desires for the throne. 8th chooses the throne over Rouxi, and 4th despite wanting the throne, is not afraid to stand by Rouxi in the rain. I guess you could say in this version, it is slightly different because 4th prince in this version never really thought of taking the throne.

As long as the crown prince is still alive, is there even a possibility of 4th prince coveting for the throne?

Anyway, on a side note, I was never an 8th prince supporter in BBJX. He was greedy and ambitious, despite his gentleman ways. He had 2 wives and still liked Rouxi – so I never really grew fond of him that much. But in this version, I liked 8th prince and I am sad that he is forced to choose between family and Hae Soo – but I guess every choice has their own consequences. You can’t have everything in life.

Oh – and I wanted to talk about the King. His position is such that he has to choose which sons will live and which one will die. Or rather, seating on the throne means you have to make decisions which is best for everyone, even if it is a selfish decision. It’s a seat with heavy responsibilities and even if it seems like you have the power, it is usually not the case.

I am curious as to when 4th finally becomes King, will there come a day where he has to choose between his responsibilities as a King and his love for Hae Soo?

ENDING NOTE

There has been a lot of opinions about the drama and the speculations about the ending. I am open to opinions and discussions, but please don’t leave comments such as you don’t want the drama to follow history or what’s the point of the whole drama if they are going to deceive the viewers and give a sad ending.

It’s as good as saying you don’t want to see ghosts in a horror drama. It’s a historical drama, of course, it will follow history to a certain extent. You don’t watch a historical drama and say you don’t want it to follow history. That doesn’t make sense does it? And yes it’s a drama – that’s why the characters’ portrayal, personality, story itself are all fiction.

And saying things like the writer is deceiving viewers if they do not give a happy ending. You should have known that this drama is actually a tragic drama, and so was the novel. Yes, this is an adaptation, and they could definitely give an alternate ending – but it doesn’t always mean it would end up with everyone being happy. But if you are going to insist on a happy ending and nothing else, please choose your dramas carefully next time.

The ending is always important to a drama – but whether it is a good ending or a sad ending, it should complement the drama as a whole and give a satisfying closure to the viewers. For Scarlet Heart Ryeo, whether it will end in tears or smiles, I’m all prepared for both – as long as it will be a satisfying one.

First of all i have to say, i hope this doesn’t turn out the same as the novel or the HBS chinese adaptation of it as both had very questionable endings. So far kdrama this year that i’ve watched had pleasant endings , let’s fight ghost, dots, doctors,W 2worlds. I hope it goes along something like this.

Soo pass away from depression due to her heart grows weary. Wang So became Gwangjong, history remained unchanged. He didn’t kill his brothers, he merely exiled them.

Flashback to the future. Soo awakes in the ICU. The nurse tending to her told her that she has been in a coma for a few months. She touched her chest and felt a deep pain inside. Knowing that it couldn’t have been a dream. A handsome doctor approaches. Enters a man resembling Wang So. Upon seeing him, tears flow from her eyes.

PS : We all know that actions bear consequences and history will always repeat itself. Predestination Paradox explains it well. No matter what she would’ve tried to do in the past, it’ll merely delay the outcome, it won’t change it. I hope she gets a little better ending.

I guess it depends on each individual. I too would love a happier ending, but personally i liked the novel ending whr she died and never manage to go back to her time. I mean even if she does go bck to the future, hw is it ever going to be a happy ending when the people she loved are all from the past? And those with the same faces arent exactly the same people she loved. Unless they found a way where both world could co-exist.

I don’t understand why you don’t want comments left desiring a happy ending. When I read in the opening that they were taking a Creative License to History I took that to mean they were only going to somewhat follow History. I love Scarlet Heart Ryeo but at the same time am disappointed. There was a lot of hype for this Drama resulting in high expectations. From watching almost everything on You Tube about Scarlet Heart:Ryeo, I don’t know about you but it seems to me that there were too many good scenes cut substituted by inferior scenes. I’m guessing due to poor editing they ended up on the cutting floor. I think this is what caused in at least one episod for a few scenes to be missing information and seem disconnected. I think there should have been more than 20 episodes to get all the scenes in that would have explained more about some of the relationships. I am disappointed that 4th Prince only gets 7 episodes with Hae Soo as 8th Prince got the most part of 13 episodes. But that could be because I’m a die hard Lee Joon Gi fan. I noticed on the preview for the next episode 4th Prince is marrying Crown Prince’s or now the King’s daughter where in History it was actually Crown Prince’s niece. If the writers can vary from History on that important fact as well as if the ending is the same as in BBJX which is pure fiction, why can’t they vary from History for a Happy Ending? However, let me add that I know I have been critical in this post but I do love Scarlet Heart Ryeo. I am also watching Moon Drawn by Clouds but I am definitely favoring Scarlet Heart Ryeo.

I never said i didn’t want comments for a happy ending. I don’t understand hardcore fans who refuse to watch alternative endings if the writer chooses a sad ending. I’m fine with whatever ending as long as it wraps up the story good.